Lakes Coal Trade Impacted by Weather in June

LCA

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Shipments of coal on the Great Lakes totaled 2.6 million tons in June, a decrease of 9.7 percent compared to May, and a drop of nearly 13 percent compared to a year ago.

Some of the decrease was the result of a lengthy outage at the Lakes’ largest coal-shipping operation, Superior Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. Flooding after a torrential storm forced shipments to cease on June 19. The dock resumed loading on July 8. Overseas shipments continued in June. Coal shipped to Quebec City for reloading into oceangoing vessels totaled 246,000 tons.

Year-to-date the Lakes coal trade stands at 8.9 million tons, a decrease of 7.6 percent compared to a year ago. However, for the first half of the year, loadings are nearly 28 percent behind their 5-year average. Lake Carriers’ Association represents 17 American companies that operate 57 U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes and carry the raw materials that drive the nation’s economy: iron ore and fluxstone for the steel industry, aggregate and cement for the construction industry, coal for power generation, as well as salt, sand and grain. Collectively, these vessels can transport more than 115 million tons of cargo per year. Those cargos support more than 103,000 jobs with an average wage of $47,000. More information is available at www.lcaships.com. Contact: Glen Nekvasil, Vice President (440-333-9996).